Political popgun

Beyond the insane, homicidal musings he posted online prior to killing three coworkers at a Tunkhannock-area grocery store, little is known about Robert Stair. Was he a known to be mentally ill? Had he been treated? If so, is it right that he was able to purchase (and actually fetishize) the two pistol-grip shotguns he used in the murder-suicide. (Further … pistol-grip shotguns? Why are those even a thing?)

Tragedies like the one that befell the folks in that tiny Wyoming County borough offer a moment to reflect on the overabundance of guns in America and the death and violence that results. It’s also worth noting that in February, the GOP-run U.S. House of Representatives gutted an Obama-era regulation passed in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre intended to prevent the mentally ill from buying guns.